Could It Really Be?
by Boop-de-Doop
Summary: Ryan can't stop thinking about when he and Marissa had unprotected sex on the beach. When Marissa starts to develop some funky symptoms, Ryan feels that their might be some bad news in store for them. PLEASE RATE & REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

**My first O.C. fanfic..so be nice! Let me know how you like it by reviewing and make sure to do so, especially if you want more! lol okay, let's get started! Rating due to some curses and teen content.**

**Oh, btw, I don't own any of the characters in this yet...just this story and if I add any charaters that I own, I'll let you know at the beginning of the chapter! Enjoy! This take places after Marissa & Ryan had sex on the beach, but then continues on from my point of view, not going along with the show!**

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Ryan woke up early to hear the rain tapping against the glass windows and doors of the pool house that he lived in. **6:17 A.M.** _I'm going back to sleep,_ thought Ryan. He tried to go back to sleep, but he couldn't stop thinking of when him and Marissa had sex for the first time ever two weeks ago. Itnever really bothered him before, butfor some reason, now it was.In a way he was kind of worried...they didn't use protection.

So he decided on getting up and going into the house to get some coffee. He was greeted by Seth when he walked in.

"Hey, dude, it's like six thirty. What are you doing up?" Seth asked.

"What are you talking about why are you up too?" Ryan came back.

"Oh...right...Couldn't sleep," Seth said.

"Me either," Ryan told him. "I just couldn't stop thinking about stuff."

"Stuff...like...Marissa?"

"Yeah."

Then Sandy walked in, wearing his bath robe and slippers.

"Morning boys," he said.

They both nodded and continued to sip their coffee. Sandy poured himself a cup and then turned back to Ryan and Seth. "Sleep well?"

"Uh...sure," they chimed together. Ryan decided to go back into the pool house and get ready for the day ahead. He had was to have breakfast with Marissa before she went off to her school, and he got to his tutoring lessons. He quickly changed and decided to hang out in there for a little, waiting for his morning call from Marissa.

* * *

Marissa was at Summer's house now, since her mother was staying in a low-rent motel and didn't want Marissa to have to be there.

Marissa lay in the bed of Summer's guest bedroom. It was big and filled with lots of pillows and blankets. She had a terrible back pain all night long, that just wouldn't go away. She tried all she could, switching to different positions and such, but nothing could seem to shake the ache. She got up and thought that walking might help. She went into the kitchen to find Summer making eggs on the stove. At the site of those horrid little nasty yellow things, Marissa headed straight for the bathroom.

"Coop! Are you ok?" Summer asked as she followed Marissa into the bathroom. Marissa was leaning over the pure white toilet bowl.

"Um...yeah I just got a little - nausous. I don't know why, I usually like eggs," Marissa said.

"Maybe you've got a bug or something?" Summer suggested.

"That's probably it. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Well, maybe you should stay home today, I mean, you don't want to be puking in your new school do you?" Summer asked. She knew it would get Marissa to stay home and rest.

"Fine, but I'm still going to meet Ryan for breakfast. I feel bad since I haven't been spending much time with him lately."

She went back upstairs to her room and got changed. She grabbed her cell and called Ryan.

"Hey," she said into the phone. "When do you want to meet? 7? Ok, see you then. Love you," and she hung up.

She grabbed her purse and say goodbye to Summer and got into her black Range Rover.

* * *

Ryan sat in a booth at their usual restaurant and waited for Marissa. He noticed her run in and head straight for the bathroom. He followed after her and stopped when he reached the women's room door. He knocked, since it was a single-person bathroom.

"Marissa?" he asked. She opened the door and came out. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"Uhh yeah I'm fine.. I just... haven't been myself lately." They walked back to the booth and sat down.

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked.

"Well, I've been getting naucous a lot and I keep having back pains. I feel like I'm gonna barf every time I see certain foods," she explained.

"Hm...Maybe the flu?" he suggested.

"I don't know but I think I'll give it a few days and if it's not better then, I'll go see a doctor."

They ordered some food, but Marissa didn't eat much. She just picked at it. She told Ryan about her not going to school that day and he said that after his lessons, he was going to go and spend the day with her.

"That's sweet, but I don't want you to get sick," she said.

"Somehow, I have a feeling it's not contageous," Ryan said. His eyes glistened and he had a funny feeling that...well...Marissa might be...pregnant.

She gave him a weird look, then she left to go back home. When she got home, she put on her PJ's and rested in bed. She threw up 3 times in about 2 hours. She had a feeling she would need to see the doctor.

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I really hope you guys like it! I NEED you to review in order for me to write more to the story! Oh, and sorry to leave the cliffhanger at the end, but I couldn't think of more. But I'll be thinking about it, and when I get some reviews, I'll be sure to post more!


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm glad you guys enjoyed the first chapter, and now I hope you will enjoy the second chapter just as much...maybe more! lol! Enjoy & don't forget to REVIEW! Oh, and I know that Ryan is usually not a very emotionally open person, but in this story, let's just says he's more open than in the show!**

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Chapter 2

After his tutoring lesson, Ryan layed on his bed and thought._Oh no...what if Marissa really is pregnant? What are we going to do?_ he thought to himself. _I have to tell her that she might be,_ he thought again. But he just didn't know how to. And he was afraid to. He was afraid to face the facts that it might actually be true.

After sitting there for a while, he knew what he had to do. And he headed over to Marissa's to do just that.

* * *

Marissa sat in her bed listening to soft tunes coming out from her iPod stereo. The sound of ocean waves always calmed her, but she was too sick to go to the beach, so she just listened to it on the iPod stereo. She was facing the wall, so she hadn't noticed when Ryan came in. 

He sat down on the edge of her bed. She felt him sit there and rolled over so that she was facing him.

"Hey," she said. "I thought you would have called."

"Yeah, well," Ryan started but Marissa stopped him.

"What's in the bag?" she asked suspiciously. Ryan looked away. "Ryan..."

He reached his hand into the plastic bag and pulled out a pregnancy test. Marissa had a very surprised expression on her face, even though she had the same thought. Since they had sex, she had not stopped thinking about the fact that she could be pregnant. Then once she started throwing up, she had felt the worry eating through her mind. She reached out her hand and took it from his, without saying one word. She then walked slowly into the bathroom, and shut the door.

Ryan sat in worry for 15 minutes. He figured she had to wait for the results to come back. He heard a noise, and saw her walk out with out the test in hand. She sat down back in her same place on the bed, and started to cry. Ryan embraced her in his arms. Thats all he could think of to do at a time like that. Marissa was pregnant.

"What am I going to do, Ryan?" Marissa asked. She was so overwhelmed at the whole ordeal that she just couldn't think straight. Tears fell from her eyes.

"I...don't know," he answered her truthfully. He really didn't.

"What am I going to tell my parents? Well, at least my mom anyway. But still, I'll be grounded for, like, ever. Then I'll have to leave my new school and I'll be known as the pregnant whore! Just when I thought I was making a new start... It's bad enough someone already hates me..." she said.

"Who hates you?" Ryan asked.

"This girl, Heather. She's like a major bully and her and her whole possey know that I shot someone. Now they're gonna make my life a living hell...and why does it matter right now? I'm **pregnant**! I'm HAVING A BABY!" She sobbed in Ryan's arms.

"Ok, number one, we are having a baby," Ryan said.

"Yeah, well..." Marissa started. She looked away.

"Well what?" Ryan asked.

"What if...well...you know..."

"What if...?" he asked growing impatient.

"What if you leave me?" Marissa's blotchy face turned a deeper shade of red.

Ryan was surprised she would say that. He loved her so much. Although, they did have many bumps in the long road of love, which may have caused that to stick in that back of her mind.

"I'm not," he said. She just stared into his face. "I'm not going to leave you. I love you and this is our baby," he told her.

She hugged him said, "I love you too." Then she cried some more.

* * *

Ryan had to leave Marissa's to be home for dinner. They had discussed when to tell everyone, and they both decided that now wasn't the time. Except the fact that they had both agreed on telling Summer & Seth. Marissa said that she would tell Summer the news later on when she came home, and Ryan agreed to telling Seth after dinner. 

Ryan sat down with the Cohen's at the long dinner table. He tried not to make eye contact with anyone, as it was easy to tell when something was on his mind. Of course, they noticed anyway.

"Something wrong, Ryan?" Sandy asked in an annoying parental tone of voice.

"Uhh no nothing's wrong...everythings - great," Ryan answered.

"It doesn't look so great, my buddy," Seth added in.

Sandy glared at him, then turned his attention back to Ryan. Kirsten looked worried. "Ryan, I just want you to know that if there is something wrong, we are here to help you," Sandy told him.

"Uhh thanks," Ryan replied. He just sat there and played with his food. He was too initially shocked and nervous to eat. Sandy spoke up again.

"Ok, Ryan, you know know I'm not really the prying into your business type, but this time I think I'm going to have to. What's going on?" he asked. A hint of worry was in his voice.

"Nothing's wrong," he said stiffly.

Sandy looked at Kirsten who looked back at him. Then they simultaneously turned their attention back to Ryan.

"Trouble with Marissa?" Kirsten asked.

"I guess you could say that.."

Seth gave him a what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about look.

"May I please be excused?" Ryan asked.

Sandy nodded and let Ryan pass him on his way to the pool house.

He looked at Kirsten in fear and said, "This worries me."

Kirsten nodded saying that was how she felt too.

"Dad, why don't I go talk to him? Maybe it's a problem only a brother could help with? After all, we _are_ brothers kind of right?" Seth suggested.

"Good idea, son," Sandy said, giving Seth the approval. Seth got up and trotted his way to the pool house after Ryan.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you guys liked it! Don't forget to review for this chapter too!**

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Chapter 3

"Hey, man, what's going on?" Seth asked as he entered the pool house without knocking.

"Uhh I don't really want to talk about it," Ryan replied. He knew that Seth's parents sent him in to pry.

"Nice try," he said. "Spill."

"Your not going to give this up are you?" Ryan asked.

"Not withouta fight," Seth told him happily.

"Fine, but you have to promise that you can't tell **anyone**!"

"I won't, I won't just fess up!" Seth was excited.

"Ok...well...Marissa is...pregnant."

"Oh...my...are you friggin serious?" Seth was pretty shocked about it all.

"Yeah," Ryan told him. "I know. Now she is all upset and so am I and I don't know what we're going to do and we have to tell our parents that we're having a baby!"

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Summer came into Marissa's room with her hands full of shopping bags from tons of different stores. 

"Have a fun time at the mall?" Marissa asked.

"Yeah. How about you? Did you have a fun time with Ryan? I know he came over here," she said with a little laughter.

"Um..well..not...really," she stated.

"Ooh, poor thing, problems again?" Summer sounded sympathetic.

"You could say that." Marissa knew that she had to tell Summer. After all, she was her best friend and the only other person that she could confide in now besides Ryan or Seth, and she would really rather talk to a girl, knowing that Summer would understand easier. "Hey, Sum?"

"What?" Summer asked as she sat down on the edge of Marissa's bed.

"Well, I'm...kind of...pregnant," she was surprised that the words were able to come out of her mouth.

"WHAT?" Summer was obviously and completely aghast. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm not. And believe me, I was just as shocked as you were, but you know, that is what happens when two people...well..you know," Marissa said.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. But still! Oh my God! Coop, who's the dad? Ryan right?" Summer was just checking.

"Of course!" Marissa was surprised that Summer would even think otherwise. She knew that she was dating Ryan, too. "I just don't know what to do, Sum. I mean, usually I either fix my problems or handle them and move on, but this one...I don't think it's fixable."

"Don't worry, Coop. Everything is going to be ok. I'm always here for you and you know that. And so are Ryan and Seth."

"How do you know? How do you know for sure that Ryan is really going to stay with me? How do I know that he's not just saying that to keep me of his case which would make it easier for him to run away or dump me?" Tears fell from Marissa's eyes. Her black mascara started to run down her face. Summer pulled her in for a hug.

"Because Ryan loves you. He would never do that to you. And if he did, he's got **me** to deal with," Summer said reasurringly.

* * *

"What are you gonna do man?" Seth asked Ryan. 

"I have no idea. But I promised Marissa that I wouldn't leave her or the baby. That I would stay with them," Ryan said.

"Do you really mean it?"

"Yes." Ryan knew right thing to do was to stay by Marissa's side when he needed her the most. And he also loved her more than any other girl he's ever dated before. She was the one. "She's the one," he said.

"Wow, Ryan, that was deep," said Seth with his usual sarcasmic tone of voice.

"I'm serious! I made a promise to her. And I'm not going to break it."

"Alrighty then," Seth said. He walked towards the exit of the pool house.

"And remember your promise to me, Seth. You can't tell _anyone_!" Ryan reminded him.

"I know, I know." And with that Seth left and headed back up to his own room. He knew that Marissa would most likely tell Summer, so he decided to call her, but - he wouldn't tell her about it unless she brought it up first. And of course, she did:

"I'm still in awe. I..I just can't believe this whole thing!" Summer said into the phone as she sat on her bed rummaging through the packages of clothes that she had bought earlier.

"Well maybe if they had used protection..."

"Seth! Stop it! It was meant to be special to them and wearing condoms doesn't make it special!" Summer snapped.

"Ok Sum, whateeeever you say."

"Thank you," she said sarcastically back, even though she knew he was kidding. "Look, I've got to go, but maybe we can hang out tomorrow and do something with Ryan and Marissa?"

"Sure see you tomorrow," and with that they hung up the phone.

Seth climbed into bed. He thought about what the situation would be like if it was him and Summer having the baby. He shuddered at the thought of Summer with mood swing and morning sickness.

"Oh God!" he whispered to himself as he drifted off to sleep. Summer felt the same way in her room, as she took, drifted dazily off to sleep.

Ryan sat awake in his pool house, as did Marissa in Summer's guest room.


	4. Chapter 4

**I really hope you are starting to get into the story! And love that you keep reviewing so keep it up! lol**

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Chapter 4

Ryan woke up early the nezt morning to the ringing of his phone. He groggily reached over and grabbed the phone off the nightstand.

"Hello?" he said. It was Marissa. There was lots of worry in her voice. He could tell she'd been crying.

"Ryan, something's wrong. I'm bleeding and I know this isn't normal. I need to go to the hospital," she said. Ryan couldn't see her but he knew that she was crying again.

"Ok, I'm coming over and I'll take you to the hospital," he said as he immediatly hung up the phone and ran out of the pool house to the car.

Ryan pulled up at Marissa's house, and she ran out to car. They hurried to the hospital and went through the emergency room doors.

"Name?" asked the lady at the front desk.

"Marissa Cooper," she rushed. "Thi-"

"I need you to fill out these forms," she lady handed her a thick packet of papers.

"Excuse me," Ryan said. "But this is a really big emergency."

The nurse looked at Marissa.

"I'm pregnant and I'm bleeding and I know it's not normal," she told her. The nurses expression changed and she said something to one of the other nurses behind her. "Go with her," she said to Marissa. "You need to fill out these papers as best as you can without her," she said to Ryan. Marissa rushed off with the other nurse and Ryan sat down in one of the hospital chairs trying to fill out the papers.

* * *

It had been a while and Ryan hadn't heard anything about Marissa yet. He was really starting to get worried, despite the fact that he already was really nervous. He walked up to the front desk. 

"Did you hear anything about Marissa Cooper yet?" he asked. The nurse didn't even look up.

"No, I haven't and I'll let you know when I do," she said coldly. Ryan sat back down in the same chair he'd been sitting in for a while.

Finally the nurse called him up. "Follow me," she said as she led him to a big hospital room with a window. Marissa was laying in the bed, looking out the window. Ryan ran up to her.

"What happened?" he asked. "I was waiting out there forever I was so worried!"

"Well..I'm going to be ok, and so is the baby, but..." her sentence trailed off.

"But what?" Ryan's expression changed slightly.

"But they had to notify my mom that I'm here, so now she's going to know that I'm pregnant," Marissa had tears in her eyes. A few started to fall down her cheeks.

Ryan wiped them away with his thumbs. "She had to know eventually," he said softly.

"I know...but...I just don't think I'm ready for her to know yet, and now I don't even have a choice." They both looked to the hallway as they heard high heels clacking through.

"Which room is Marissa Cooper's?" they heard Julie ask. Then they heard the heels getting closer.

"Pretend your asleep," Ryan whispered and Marissa followed his instructions. His fingers were intertwined with hers.

Julie entered the room to see Ryan with her. Her face gave it away that she was _not_ happy.

"You," she directed toward Ryan. "You did this. You did this to her. It's all you fault. You are the reason for all the problems in this family." Her voice was raising despite the fact that Marissa was supposedly asleep.

"First of all, I agree with you on one thing. Yes, this whole pregnancy thing, well it kinda is my fault, but it takes two people to make a baby, so I didn't do it by myself. And second of all, your family problems are not my fault. Whatever goes on with your family has to do with your family. The only person that I have an effect on is Marissa, so you can't go around blaming me for all of you problems," Ryan said. He was starting to feel confident. After all, he had basically just told Julie Cooper-Nichols off.

"W-well..." was all that Julie could say. She was pure speechless. _Am I really going to let some teenager who has been ruining my life talk to me that way?_ Julie thought to herself. _But what am I **supposed** to say? I've got it! _"As soon as the abortion goes through, your out of the picture for good. My girls and I are moving away. Far, far away."

"Abortion?" Marissa yelled from her bed. Her face was getting redder as the minutes passed by with her mother in the same room as her. "Who said **anything** about an abortion?" Marissa was yelling at her mother. Tears streamed down her face. She couldn't even believe her mother would stoop that low. I mean, she knew that her mother was cruel and evil and controlling, but this was it. This was the last straw. Now that Marissa was pregnant, she wanted her mother out of the picture. No way was her mother going to control her life and the life of her unborn child.

"Well, dear, you couldn't possibly be thinking of keeping this child. I mean you two are _clearly_ not ready for such a big responsiblity," replied Julie. Her direction was more towards Ryan than Marissa.

"Mom, that's it! Get out!" Marissa yelled. "Get out! Get out! Get out! I don't want you to ever come near me again. This is my life and our baby, and we are keeping it and I'm moving out!" Julie's jaw dropped.

"You are not!" she shouted back. "I make up the rules, darling." She said snobbily. "You are my child and I'm not going to let some trashy teenage boy take you away from me!"

"That's it! I already told you to leave and that it the LAST time you insult Ryan or me ever again. If he's just some _trashy teenage boy_, then I'm just some _trashy **pregnant**teenage girl,_" she said as she glared at her mother evilly. That just put the icing on the cake for Julie Cooper.

"You know what? Fine! If you want to throw your life away with this (pointing to Ryan), BE MY GUEST! But don't coming crying to me when you have no money andso many STD's that you don't know what to do!" Julie said as she stormed out of the hospital room.

Marissa's face was red hot and her eyes were like small flames beginning to cool.

"Well that went well," Ryan stated sarcastically.

"Actually, I think it did," Marissa told him. "At least now we don't have to worry about my mom bothering us for a while."

"Yeah, the only thing we need to worrying about is where your going to live."

"Well, for now I'm staying at Summer's and I'm sure she won't mind if I staya little longer," Marissa told him.

"But you can't stay there forever. And when the baby comes, your gonna need me thereto help take care of it, too," Ryan said.

"Really?" Marissa's voice perked up. "So you think we should live together?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah," Ryan said. Marissa was so excited that she hugged him. She just hoped that everything would work out and so did Ryan. Marissa was now finally happy. _Hmm, I'm starting to think getting pregnant wasn't such a bad idea,_ Marissa thought. She smiled.

"What's so funny?" Ryan asked.

"Nothing," Marissa said back. "I love you."

Ryan kind of blush and said, "I love you too."


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sure this'll make you all happy -- Could It Really Be? is back in action...wow I sound like some action movie preview or something... Anywho, sorry I haven't written in a while...I've been suffering from writer's block... As a warning, not much going on in this chapter, but hey, it's something, right? Well, please review if you want more of the story ! hehehe I'm so mean P

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Chapter 5 **

Ryan left the hospital to get home and tell the Cohen's before they heard it from Julie Cooper-Nichol.

As he walked in through the front door, he heard laughter in the living room. Walking in slowly, he saw Kirsten and Sandy sitting and talking. Thank God. He made it in time.

"Look, I really need to talk to you," Ryan stated.

Sandy and Kirsten exchanged glances, and Sandy moved over to make room for Ryan. Ryan sat down and let out a sigh.

"Marissa's pregnant."

Kirsten gasped and Sandy dropped his jaw.

"And it's my fault."

"Oh my God," Sandy and Kirsten both managed to choke out of their throats together.

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"You told the Cohen's!" Marissa said in horror. "Whatever made you do a stupid thing like that?" 

"I had to," Ryan argued back. "If I didn't, your mom would have told them."

"Well, what did they say?"

"They were...definitely surprised...I mean what else could their reaction be?" Ryan smiled a little.

Then the doctor walked in the room. His name tag read 'Dr. Fardez'.

"Marissa, you can go home as soon as I fill out these papers," he informed her, then left the room.

"Oh thank God...this hospital is so boring!" Marissa yawned.

Ryan placed his hand on top of Marissa's. It was cold and he gently rubbed his fingers back and forth over it. Marissa gave him a small, yet warm smile and she felt like everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Later on, after Marissa had been released from the hospital, Sandy and Kirsten agreed to let Ryan stay at Summer's with Marissa. After all, it wasn't like much worse could happen. He explained to them that he knew it was his fault, and he wished none of it had even happened, but he also told them about how he was willing to take full responsiblity and help Marissa out as much as possible. They both felt that was a very mature thing to do (of course as parents would say) so they figured it would be best for him to stay there and take care of Marissa. Being that it was Friday helped a lot, too. 

Ryan and Marissa had stopped in a their usual restaurant to grab a bite to eat.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I feel fine and I have this whole time, except for the nausea, of course. But I didn't feel any different at the hospital," Marissa answered quickly.

"Yeah, I bet having your mom visit didn't make you feel a whole hell of a lot better," Ryan laughed.

"Actually, once I finally stood up to her, I felt a lot better. I mean, now that I don't have to deal with her trying to tell me what to do or how to run my life anymore makes me feel really good." She smiled to herself.

"Not to ruin the moment or anything, but I have a feeling that isn't the last we are going to see of Julie Cooper-Nichols," Ryan told her.

"Yeah, I don't think so either, but at least it will work for a little while," Marissa said. They both laughed.

Once they had finished their food, they got in the Range Rover and took a little drive by the beach. The sun was shining and it was a nice, warm day - perfect for the beach. They talked a little bit, about plans for their future living arrangements, then decided to head back to Summer's.

No one was home when they got there, and Marissa was starting to feel tired again. They picked out a DVD and layed on Marissa's bed. Half-way through the movie, Marissa fell asleep with her head on Ryan's chest.

A little while later, Seth and Summer appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, man," Seth said.

"What happened?" Summer asked immediatly. "Why is Coop wearing a hospital bracelet?" Her eyes were wide.

"She thought something was wrong with the baby, but it turns out everything is normal. But while we were there," Ryan smirked, "we ran into someone."

"Who?" Seth and Summer asked in unison.

"Her mother."

Both gasped in horror. "She knows?" Summer questioned.

Ryan nodded, "Yep. She knows. And she didn't take it very well either."

Marissa shifted in her sleep, and opened her eyes slowly. "Hey everyone," she smiled sleepily.

"Hey," they all replied.

"Sleep well?" Ryan asked. She nodded. "WellI was just getting to the part of how your mom flipped out when she found out about the baby, and I know you love this part, so why don't you tell them what you did?" He gave her a reasurring smile, which she greatfully returned.

"I told her off. And I don't think she'll be bothering us again - at least not for a while. But Ryan and I are gonna live together," she told them.

"Yay!" Summer cheered. "You finally told the bitch to shove it!" Everyone laughed.

"It's about time," Seth added.

"Yep," Marissa agreed. "It definitley is."


End file.
